"There's a Small Hotel"

from the "There's a Small Hotel" sequence of Pal Joey

Queen Victoria

John J. Welder Home carriage stone and gate post

Mad Men moment #3

In the fifth episode of the third season of Mad Men, "The Fog," Betty Draper gives birth to the Draper's third child. She is also dealing with the death of her father, which occurred in the previous episode. While in the hospital, Betty has a drug-induced delivery room hallucination, in which, among other things, she converses with her deceased parent.

Grand Dame Edna

Right on Main Street in Edna, Texas, the 1950 Edna Theatre:

5 Least Favorite Beatle Songs

I just recently purchased a new copy of Nicholas Schaffner's excellent, out-of-print, The Beatles Forever. Back in 1981 when I first came across it, the book was (for all practical purposes) my introduction to The Beatles. I read every word and studied every one of the hundreds of photos included, several times. Looking at it today brings back a lot of memories. And because it came out in 1978, the book ends on a positive note.

King Cole Trio's "Route 66"

To commemorate a year since my Route 66 road trip of a year ago (and ponder the possibility of a return to uncharted portions), Nat "King" Cole (and Trio) would like to play their version of Bobby Troup's musical tribute to the Mother Road. This is from around 1946:

I sort of gorged myself on Cuero...

...and for that, I must apologize, because there's a whole lot of great stuff(!) I got for the hour and a half or so I was there. If you are one of those EBiN readers who thinks "meh" or "wtf?" whenever you see the latest post is one of those 100-year-old-houses-ghost-signs-and-vintage-neon-signs-kind-of-posts, you may want to move along. Sorry, there's nothing to see here this go around. The rest of you should prepare to receive a face full of Cuero.

Playing The Little Sparrow

Forget about Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash or Kurt Russell as Elvis. Never you mind Sissy Spaceck as Loretta Lynn or even Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. Disregard Val Kilmer's complete and utter embodiment of Jim Morrison. Stand there, pointing, laughing hysterically at George Hamilton as Hank Williams. No no, put all which has come before well out of your head, for there is a new master of the art of portraying on film a person who has actually at some point existed. And that person's name is Master Mistress Marion Cotillard.

"Seems Like Old Times"

As I am driving around the beautifully, authentically reproduced Los Angeles circa 1947 of L.A. Noire, my current favorite tune to come on the radio is Vaughn Monroe and Orchestra's "Seems Like Old Times." It's swingin', yet melancholy (and slightly ominous), and fits perfectly with the overall tone and story of the game: